Week: 4 G, 12 AB, .583/.688/1.000, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 BB, 2 K, 2/2 SB (Rookie)

2025 Season: 48 G, 154 AB, .299/.424/.500, 46 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 32 BB, 28 K, 21/23 SB, .325 BABIP (Rookie)

Elian Peña made his professional debut on June 2nd for the DSL Mets Orange, going 0-2 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. He would go 0-fer for roughly two weeks before logging his first professional hit on June 14th, going 1-3. Since his first hit, Peña is hitting .359/.475/.602 in 39 games, slugging 11 doubles, 1 triple, and 6 home runs, stealing 18 bases in 20 attempts, and drawing 29 walks to 21 strikeouts.

I’m sure anyone who is a long-term Mets minor league fan has that batting line burned into their memory and knows where I’m going with that in regards to the conversation that we are having here.

Dominican Summer League footage is a little more difficult to access with the official Mets account unlisting daily games since the beginning of July, but in the highlight clips they do release, Peña looks to be swinging the bat better. Earlier, scouts and evaluators were highlighting the fact that his swing looked a bit wooden and was not as explosive and dynamic as it looked back when he was being scouted as an amateur. Peña had an adjustment period before he was able to log his first hit, and seemingly, even after that river was crossed, he still needed an adjustment period even after he started getting hot. He was hitting the ball hard then and still is now. He was using the entire field then and is using it just as effectively now. He was displaying elite swing decisions then and still is now.

I’m trying not to get excited, friends, but it’s hard.

Week: 1 G (1 GS), 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (High-A)

2025 Season: 21 G (17 GS), 95.0 IP, 62 H, 26 R, 22 ER (2.08 ERA), 54 BB, 100 K, .250 BABIP (High-A)

Noah Hall is having a surprisingly good season. This six-plus scoreless innings against the Hudson Valley Renegades this past week lowered his season ERA to 2.08, second only to Jonah Tong among starters in the Mets minor league system with 15 or more starts this season. His 100 strikeouts are also among the top percentile in the system; he is sixth, behind Tong (162), Nolan McLean (127), Jack Wenninger (118), R.J. Gordon (104), Jonathan Santucci (104), and Will Watson (102).

Because Hall does not have premium stuff, he is not spoken about in the same breath as the system’s top pitching prospects. Generally speaking, when a player who does not necessarily have premium stuff is so good, we go looking for reasons to “discount” that success. My immediate thought went to Maimonides Park. Over the last three complete seasons, from 2022-2024, the stadium has a wOBA Park Factor of 96 and a Home Run Park Factor of 82, meaning that the stadium drags down wOBA by 4% and home runs by 18%. I figured Hall would have comical road/home splits and that a breakdown of those would highlight that the right-hander is punching above his weight.

In Hall’s case, interestingly enough, there really aren’t.

In the 51.2 innings Hall has thrown at Maimonides Park, Hall has given up 12 total earned runs- good for a 2.09 ERA- while allowing 36 hits, walking 25, and striking out 57. In the 43.1 innings he has thrown in other ballparks across the South Atlantic League, he has given up 10 total earned runs- good for a 2.08 ERA- while allowing 26 hits, walking 29, and striking out 43. Opposing batters are hitting .201/.309/.291 against him in Coney Island with 7 doubles, 0 triples, and 3 home runs and .169/.308/.240 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs against him everywhere else.

Credit where credit is due.

Week One/Two (March 28-April 6): Joey Meneses/Zach ThorntonWeek Three (April 8-April 13): A.J. Ewing/Zach ThorntonWeek Four (April 15-April 20): A.J. Ewing/Zach ThorntonWeek Five (April 22-April 27): Jon Singleton/Jonah TongWeek Six (April 29-May 5): Jacob Reimer: Felipe De La CruzWeek Seven (May 6-May 11): Ryan Clifford/Jonah TongWeek Eight (May 13-May 18): A.J. Ewing/Jonah TongWeek Nine (May 20-May 25): Jesus Baez/Zach ThorntonWeek Ten (May 27-June 1): Colin Houck/Wellington AracenaWeek Eleven (June 3-June 8): D’Andre Smith/Jonah TongWeek Twelve (June 10-June 15): Jett Williams/Brendan GirtonWeek Thirteen (June 17-June 22): Chris Suero/ Wellington AracenaWeek Fourteen (June 24-June 29): Elian Peña/Wellington Aracena & Brandon SproatWeek Fifteen (July 1-July 6): Jacob Reimer/Jack WenningerWeek Sixteen (July 8-July 13): Jett Williams/Noah Hall

Week Seventeen (July 15-20): N/A (Draft Week)

Week Eighteen (July 22-27): Ryan Clifford/Justin HagenmanWeek Nineteen (July 29-August 3): Carson Benge/R.J. Gordon